IT’S THE CRAZY AND ABSURD YEARS. HOW INSANE CAN THEY GO?
'Live or die moment': Huawei founder's memo to staff as company battles crisis
The biggest known biometric data breach to date was reported recently when researchers managed to access a 23-gigabyte database of more than 27.8m records including fingerprint and facial recognition data.
The researchers, working with cyber-security firm VPNMentor, said that they had been able to access the Biostar 2 biometrics lock system that manages access to secure facilities like warehouses or office buildings. This control mechanism, run by the firm Suprema, is reportedly part of a system used by 5,700 organisations in 83 countries, including governments, banks and the UK’s Metropolitan Police.
This breach highlights a major problem with biometric security systems that effectively use people’s biological measurements as passwords. Unlike usernames and passwords, biometric data can’t be changed if it is stolen.
Stolen fingerprints could spell the end of biometric security – here's how to save itExtraordinary rise' in strip-searches by NSW police fuelled by use of sniffer dogs - The Guardian
Comparitech found that there were 12 cameras for every 1000 people in Sydney. Paul Rovere
The report by the UK-based firm Comparitech ranked cities based on the number of CCTV cameras per 1000 people. That placed Sydney place higher than Russian capital Moscow and Baghdad in Iraq.
These results can tell a lot about the society you live in, said Privacy Foundation chairman David Vaile, and did not reflect well on the NSW capital.
"It's a bit of a wake-up call ... it's a bit shocking," he said of the 60,000 cameras Comparitech recorded in Sydney. "It's a high number that puts us just a tier or two behind the big Chinese cities."
China had eight of its largest cities rank within the 10 most surveilled cities, according to the report. Mr Vaile said this was likely due to the ruling Chinese Communist Party's Orwellian social credit system.
'Shocking': Sydney has more CCTV than Moscow
The Australian Financial Review